On the run for Wolfpack: Williams grad relishes experience

Following suit with nearly every runner on the North Carolina State men’s cross country team, Graham Crawford redshirted his first year with the program to prepare for year two.

In his first season competing for the Wolfpack during the 2012 fall, the 2011 graduate of Williams High School got his shot at the big time: the national championships held Nov. 17 at Louisville, Ky.

A predominantly young Wolfpack squad, with only five upperclassmen, finished 26th out of 31 teams competing at the NCAAs. The seven selected runners for N.C. State combined for 550 points.

While redshirt junior runner Andrew Colley paced the Wolfpack, finishing 16th overall, Crawford was the third Wolfpack finisher at 165 overall. He finished the 10 kilometers in a time of 31 minutes, 16.1 seconds.

“I wasn’t really ready for it,” Crawford said. “It was kind of an overwhelming experience because it was definitely the biggest race I’ve run in in college or high school. It was a really cool experience being there, though, and being on the line with the best runners in the country.”

As a Williams grad, Crawford was familiar with another runner at the event representing the University of Colorado: Jake Hurysz.

The junior, a 2010 graduate of Eastern Alamance, finished 32nd in 29:55.3 while helping Colorado to a third-place finish behind national champion Oklahoma State and runner-up Wisconsin.

“My goals every year are to be able to run like he did when he was my age,” Crawford said. “After he had the track season he had in the spring, I knew he would have a big fall and he proved that at nationals.”

Following the race in Louisville, Crawford received high praise from N.C. State men’s cross country coach Rollie Geiger.

“I think Graham Crawford will make a big step next year,” Geiger told gopack.com. “He had a good year and an incredible race (in the NCAAs).”

To live up to his coach’s praise following the sport’s biggest event, Crawford said he knows what he has to do in the spring track season and during the summer to succeed next fall and achieve his goals.

“I see myself as being an All-American contender and top 40 guy. That’s what (Geiger) told me after the race,” Crawford said. “I can’t get lazy in the summer. I need to keep training hard and making sure I can pull things together at the right time in November.”

Training hard and working through the summer is something Hurysz might be able to help Crawford with. When at home in Alamance County, Crawford and Hurysz still train together.

“We went to cross country camps and we trained and did a lot of workouts together in high school,” Crawford said. “We still run and train together when we’re home on breaks.”

With a young team getting a year older moving to the 2013-14 season, Crawford said he hopes the experience at nationals combined with the rising talent on the team can help the Wolfpack to a top finish nationally.

“The experience of us being at nationals this year is going to help a lot,” Crawford said. “We still have a lot of young guys that have yet to run in uniform for us. We graduate three this year and we have a lot of young guys that can step up and fill their spots. Hopefully, we can bring the young guys along and help get us into the top 20 or top 15 next year.”